Stewart 7th, Newman 22nd at Knoxville Nationals

After winning the Price Chopper 400 by Kraft Foods Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman hoped on a plane for Iowa to compete in the Knoxville Nationals. Tony Stewart finished seventh and Ryan Newman was 22nd in a battle won by Scott Bloomquist.

Our View Maybe that was why Stewart was so cranky in the media center following the race; he wanted to make sue to get to Knoxville.

Stewart, Newman and all of the other drivers in the garage that support grassroots racing have to be applauded.

Complete Results

Stewart Smokes Kansas

Tony Stewart held off a late-race charge by Jeff Gordon and won his second race at Kansas Speedway.

Our View In the end, it was a battle between two tires (Stewart) and four (Gordon) and the winning decision was less than a second on the track. At the start of the week, we predicted the race would be won in the pits.

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Kansas pit stall selections

Jayski.com has posted the pit stall selections, and as expected pole sitter Mark Martin took the final box at the exit of the pits.

Our View Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski also have openings in front of them and will be able to pull straight out. Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Scott Speed, Brian Vickers and Jeff Gordon have openings behind them and can pit shallowly to give themselves a little more room.

Kansas has a wide, long pit road, however, and no one should have too much trouble.

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Official tweets from the track

Stewart's issue is ignition #NASCAR

For most of the morning practice session, Tony Stewart thought he had an engine going sour, which caused him to turn only eight laps. Between sessions, the team changed an ignition box and the miss seems to have gone away.

Our View Stewart will get to keep his fifth-place grid position and his fans hope the issue is truly resolved. Gremlins can be hard to find, however.

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Ky Busch continues to unravel in Happy Hour practice

Kyle Busch is showing signs of wear and tear after swerving at David Reutimann in Happy Hour for the Price Chopper 400 by Kraft Foods. His frustration in practice comes on the heels of a poor qualification effort.

Our View There is no doubt that the Young Gun has speed on his side, but until he develops some maturity, he is a risky proposition.

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Montoya wins Kansas Happy Hour

Juan Montoya posted the quickest average speed in Happy Hour for the Price Chopper 400 with a speed of 168.214 mph during 23 laps. His fastest lap of 172.018 was fourth-best on that chart.

Our View Montoya didn't post too many laps in either session, but that means he didn't need the extra track time. At his level, Montoya provides the best bang for the buck.

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Johnson fastest in Kansas Happy Hour

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest single lap in both the morning and Happy Hour sessions, which continues to make him a favorite to win Sunday's Price Chopper 400.

Our View The best way to silence his critics is to dominate. Fantasy players need to put personal feelings aside and ride this pony until he goes lame.

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Stewart has possible engine problem

Tony Stewart heard something he didn't like in his engine during morning practice and spent most of the session looking for the gremlin. The team will need to decide whether to change powerplants in between the morning and Happy Hour sessions.

Our View if he changes engines, he will have to give up his fifth-place qualification effort. The Price Chopper 400 by Kraft Foods can be won from the back, but that will still be a seriously blow to his chances for a first-place finish.

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Johnson wins Kansas Sat. a.m. practice

Jimmie Johnson posted both the quickest single lap of 173.388 mph during the morning practice session and the quickest average speed of 168.765 during 23 laps.

Our View That gives him a great balance of speed and durability. He was one of our favorites at the start of the week and he remains a favorite.

Actually, Tony Stewart posted quicker average speeds, but he was battling an engine problem and made less than a handful of very short runs.

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Biffle spins in Kansas Sat. a.m. practice

Greg Biffle spun off the track in the Saturday morning session at Kansas Speedway. He did not do any apparent damage.

Our View His confidence has to be shaken, however. This is his second spin of the day after previously crashing in Nationwide qualification. It's hard to recommend him for the Price Chopper 400 unless he shows a ton of speed later in the day.

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Yahoo! Qualification Story – Kansas

Qualification matters little at Kansas, but Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will take consolation in knowing they will start up front. Brad Keselowski was the surprise dark horse of the afternoon, however, and this week's Yahoo! qualification story (.pdf) tells of just how fast Hendrick Motorsports was.

Kansas qualification order

Jayski.com has posted the qualification order for the Price Chopper 400 by Kraft Foods.

Our View It shouldn't matter who goes out when at Kansas because the biggest contributing factor will be the unpredictable wind, but for the record, Tony Stewart rolls off the grid first.

Complete Lineup

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Newman fastest in Kansas Practice 1

Ryan Newman posted the fastest single lap in the first practice session for the Price Chopper 400 by Kraft Foods with a speed of 173.745 mph.

Our View If he wants to reclaim the title "Rocketman," Newman is going to have to start winning poles again. So far in 2009, his only top start came at Lowe's for the Coke 341—er… that is, the Coke 600.

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McDowell, K Hamlin and Gilliland in jeopardy

Michael McDowell (in the No. 36 this week), Kevin Hamlin (37) and David Gilliland (04) were the three slowest drivers among the go or go homers and as such are in the greatest jeopardy of going home.

Our View Each of these drivers are most likely start and park drivers, so fantasy owners will be unaffected if they fail to make the Price Chopper 400 by Kraft Foods.

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Wind may be an issue at Kansas

Chicago is supposed to be the windy city, but nestled on the plains outside of Kansas City, wind may play a huge role in practice, qualification and the race at Kansas Speedway.

Our View It's going to be hard to dial the cars in under these conditions. Kansas is traditionally kind to dark horses, and this uncertainty will contribute to some comers and goers at the top of the grid.

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Kansas using Auto Club tires

Goodyear has brought the same tire to Kansas Speedway they used at Auto Club Speedway earlier this year.

Our View That might favor drivers who were fast there: Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon were the class of the field in the Auto Club 500. The California track is slightly longer at two miles in length, but it bears a lot of similarities in shape to the 1.5-miler in Kansas.

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Johnson, Martin "too close" to tolerance from Dover

According to FoxSports.com, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin's cars were "too close" to tolerance on fitting the templates at NASCAR's R&D center. Martin was barely under; Johnson was barely over. No penalties are forthcoming, but they were told not to bring the cars back to the track.

Our View As the story developed into Friday morning, however, John Darby reported neither car was illegal (according to a trackside Tweet from @BobPockrass). The teams that win are going to get as close to the line as possible, so Johnson and Martin are still favorites for the Price Chopper 400 by Kraft Foods.

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Gilliland in second Robby Gordon car at Kansas

David Gilliland will pilot a second Robby Gordon Motorsports car at Kansas this weekend.

Our View This keeps Gilliland in the field while Bobby Labonte takes over the Racers Group ride. Keep an eye out for a sponsor on the quarter panels of the No. 04, because this car has been known to start and park in previous events.

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Yahoo! Kansas Preview

Five of the final eight races will be run on similarly-configured, 1.5- and two-mile tracks, so this week will set the tone for the rest of the Chase Find out who'll be strong in this week's Yahoo! Preview (.pdf).